Welcome to Day #6 of Appetizer Week, a multi-blogger event co-hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker. Whether you are a Broncos fan or a Seahawks fan , we wanted to make sure you had plenty of ideas for your game day spread. Each day we will be dishing up a different set of appetizers. We hope you enjoy this fabulous group of recipes. Tune in each day starting with Monday, January 20 and ending on Saturday, January 25. Today is our final day of #AppetizerWeek. We hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have! Should we make it an annual event? I think so!
To finalize Appetizer Week or what I kept calling it…tapas, I thought I would share another one of my favorite tapas that we had in Spain! You have already seen other Spanish small bites that I made, but these queso stuffed padron peppers really take it over the top!
Padron peppers are small green peppers that grow in Padron, Spain. We found them at a little pintxos bar in San Sebastian, Spain and fell in love! They are small and usually simply charred, which I still have yet to share too. When we came home, the first and only thing I wanted to find were Padron peppers! I searched high and low, went to every Hispanic and Asian market in Southern California without any luck. I was so determined to find these little Spanish peppers, nothing was going to stop me! Finally after much searching, researching and asking every soul alive…I found the one place that sold these pepper jewels…Melissa’s Produce!
These guys were awesome! Melissa’s Produce usually sells to grocery stores in bulk and online, but they were awesome and searched for local stores that had them. I was so excited, I had Joe drive 30 minutes to a store all the way in Newport Beach just to buy some peppers. Seriously..just awesome!
I did notice a tad difference with these peppers than with the ones we had in Spain. The ones in Spain were smaller and not spicy. These Padron peppers, however are are a tad larger with more seeds = more spicy! Which is all good cause this girl can handle her heat, but not exactly what I remembered. I’m wondering if they picked the peppers while they are at their younger stage, if that would make a difference? But all in all, these little peppers are rockin’.
As you can see, I stuffed these with creamy queso. Padron peppers have a perfect pocket for stuffing…I was also thinking ground meat or chicken which would be awesome too! After they were roasted and the cheese melted, I topped them over romesco that I made the other day. The charred pepper with the oozing cheese over creamy and slightly spicy romesco sauce was just out of this world! Not only is this an amazing tapa…but wouldn’t this be awesome for Game day too?
Queso Stuffed Padron Peppers Over Romesco #AppetizerWeek
Ingredients
- 1 package Padron peppers
- 1/4 cup Queso cut into small chunks
- Olive oil for drizzling
- Sea salt to finish
- Romesco sauce recipe here
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Remove stem and seeds from peppers. Cut a slit in the pepper and stuff a piece of queso in.
- Lay all stuffed peppers in a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese melts and pepper begins to char.
- When done, smear romesco sauce on your serving plate and place stuffed padron on top. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and sea salt.
Visit all the other Appetizer Week participants for more dishes for the Big Game:
- Farewell to Appetizer Week by Cravings of a Lunatic
- Farewell to Appetizer Week by Kiss My Smoke
- Buffalo Chicken Dip by Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker
- Kickin’ Meatballs by Yours and Mine Are Ours
- Vegan Creamy Spinach Dip by Je Suis Alimentageuse
- Salsa Cheesecake by Organized Island
- Jalapeno Cheddar Bites by Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
- Parmesan and Dill Snack Crackers by From Gate to Plate
- Game Day Guacamole by Flavor Mosaic
- Buffalo Spiced Popcorn by Wonky Wonderful
- Smoked Salmon Bites by Dizzy Busy and Hungry
- Queso Stuffed Padron Peppers over Romesco by The Little Ferraro Kitchen
- Hoisin Beef and Scallion Rolls by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Smoked Salmon Potato Stacks by Food Lust People Love
- Party Pinwheels by My Catholic Kitchen
- Parmesan Asparagus Phylo Spears by Makobi Scribe
- Black Bean Hummus by Home Cooking Memories
- Mini Beef Wellingtonsby Clarks Condensed
- PB & J Wings by Cooking In Stilettos
- Creamy Cilantro Lime Dip by Mom’s Test Kitchen
- Rosemary and Sea Salt Roasted Almonds by Try Anything Once Culinary
Giveaway!!
Today’s giveaway is absolutely amazing. It is a huge cookbook giveaway, one winner takes ALL. We would like to thank Healthy Slow Cooking, Scarletta Bakes, Quarry Spoon and Fair Winds Press. We appreciate all our sponsors and folks who helped put together this fabulous giveaway. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Sorry to all our Canuck and International friends.
List of cookbooks up for grabs for #AppetizerWeek, one winner takes ALL:
Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just For You by Kathy Hester
The Great Vegan Bean Book by Kathy Hester
The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester
The New Southwest: Classic Flavors with a Modern Twist by Meagan Micozzi
Easy as Pie Pops: Small on Size and Huge on Flavor and Fun by Andrea Smetona
Baking by Hand: Make the Best Artisanal Breads and Pastries Better Without a Mixer by Andy King
Bake and Destroy: Good Food for Bad Vegans by Natalie Slater
Stealth Health Lunches Kids Love: Irresistible and Nutritious Gluten-Free Sandwiches, Wraps and Other Easy Eats by Tracy Griffith
Scoop Adventures: The Best Ice Cream of the 50 States: Make the Real Recipes from the Greatest Ice Cream Parlors in the Country by Lindsay Clendaniel
Gluten-Free 101: The Essential Beginner’s Guide to Easy Gluten-Free Cooking by Carol Fenster
Vegan Food Gifts by Joni Marie Newman
Whole Grain Vegan Baking by Celine Steen
Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats From Around the World by Allyson Kramer
The Flavorful Kitchen Cookbook by Molly Krause
500 Paleo Recipes by Dana Carpenter
Paleo Sweets and Treats by Heather Connell
Fire in my Belly by Kevin Gillespie
Latin American Street Food by Sandra Gutierrez
Eat your Vegetables by Joe Yonan
Cooking Slow by Andy Schloss
a Rafflecopter giveaway
***Disclaimer: This giveaway is being provided by sponsors. #AppetizerWeek bloggers have not received product or been compensated as a part of this giveaway.***
I ADORE Fannie Farmer’s cookbook!
My favorite cookbook ever is “Simply French” by Patricia Wells with Joel Robuchon! It’s fancier than what I make every day, but AMAZING for special occasions, and every recipe is “doable,” and I feel like I’ve become a better cook just by reading it. SO GOOD.
Even Im a sucker for a huge prize like 20 cook books. All of your recipes have looked stellar this week.
Id have to say my most used cookbook (not sure if that makes it my fav) is slow cooker revolution via cook’s. Love that book.
Love all of these books!
I’ve recently become obsessed with Weelicious lunches cook book.
Eat what you love is a great cookbook!!
Every year the Home Ec teachers from the local schools put together a cookbook. Lots of cream of mushroom soup cans, but my dad made the effort to get us each the latest copy every year. The food is just a small part of cooking, memories are the biggest part.
Joy of Cooking! Such a great resource for any cook or baker.
My French mother has always said that Americans grow all produce bigger, sometimes to the point of tastelessness. I don’t know if that’s a true, but produce in Europe is always impressive. And I’ve been to all of the western countries except for Wales.
This appetizer is beautiful! I wish I could sample it.
Jerusalem is my favorite cookbook right now, I love trying it’s different offerings! The story behind the book is fascinating as well.
We were the first to introduce the Padrón peppers to the culinary scene here in the US over 10 years ago. We learned that the nature of the pepper is hot. To be tapa grade requires special nurture. We now label our product “tapa grade” as we have learned how to produce Padrón peppers with the proper 1 out of 10 hot to not ratio. Watch out when you buy others, most have given the wrong impression as you note of Melissa’s. Consequently shishitos have been popularized as an acceptable replacement. I don’t want to denegrate shishitos but for flavor and texture they are a weak stand in for tapas.
Hi David! Thank you for the comment! I have to say, nothing will ever compare to the padron peppers we enjoyed in Spain…the flavor was exceptional and I am sure the atmosphere made it even better! I have tried to find a replacement here in the US, but nothing ever compared. I guess it will just have to stay as a wonderful memory for now 🙂